At a glance
- Style
- Hydromel
- Alcohol
- About 6.8% ABV
- Finish
- Off-dry
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Honey
- Orange blossom, clover or another light, aromatic honey
- Yeast
- Safale US-05
- Ready in
- 6 to 8 weeks
- Batch
- 1 gallon, scalable
Ingredients
Quantities are for one US gallon (3.8 liters). Pick a batch size and every amount updates; one packet of yeast covers up to six gallons. Not sure how much honey your own twist needs? Use the mead calculator.
- 1.5 lb Honey, orange blossom or clover
- 0.88 gallons Spring water (to make 1 gallon of must with the honey)
- 1 packet Safale US-05 ale yeast (about 5 g (half an 11.5 g packet) is plenty for 1 gallon; a full packet covers 5 to 6 gallons)
- 6 g Go-Ferm (yeast rehydration nutrient) (optional but recommended)
- 4 g Fermaid O yeast nutrient (split into 4 doses, see steps)
- 2 oz Honey for priming or sweetening (1 oz to carbonate, 2 to 3 oz to sweeten the still version)
- 0.5 tsp Potassium sorbate (still version only)
- 1 Campden tablet (potassium metabisulfite) (still version only)
This recipe ferments dry and is sweetened at the end: how to backsweeten mead has the stabilizing doses and a honey chart for any batch size.
Equipment
- 2-gallon bucket for primary and a 1-gallon jug for secondary
- Airlock and drilled bung
- Hydrometer
- Auto-siphon and tubing
- Pressure-rated bottles (beer bottles and a capper, or swing-tops) for the sparkling version
- No-rinse sanitizer (Star San)
New to this? Our mead making kit checklist covers what each piece does and what you can skip.
Step-by-step method
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Sanitize and mix
Sanitize everything that touches the must. Warm the honey jar in hot water so it pours, stir the honey into half a gallon of cool water until no streaks remain, then top up to the 1-gallon mark. A light must like this dissolves easily and needs no heating. The gravity should read about 1.052.
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Pitch the yeast
Rehydrate about 5 g of US-05 with the Go-Ferm in 50 ml of water at about 80°F (27°C) for 15 minutes, then stir it into the must. Fit the airlock and keep it at 64 to 68°F (18 to 20°C). Ale yeast runs fast at these temperatures, so expect activity within a day.
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Feed the yeast
Add one quarter of the Fermaid O at 24, 48 and 72 hours, and the last quarter at the 1/3 sugar break (about 1.035) or on day 5, whichever comes first. With this little sugar the break arrives early, so check the gravity on day 3. Degas gently before each addition.
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Let it finish clean
Fermentation is usually done in 1 to 2 weeks, with the gravity steady at about 0.998 to 1.000 for three days. Leave it on the yeast one more week: the yeast cleans up some of the rough byproducts of fermentation before you rack.
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Rack and cold crash
Rack into a clean 1-gallon jug and top up to limit headspace. If you have fridge space, chill it for 3 to 7 days; the cold drops yeast and haze quickly. Let it return to room temperature before priming.
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Sparkling: prime and bottle
Only prime a mead whose gravity has been stable for at least a week, or you risk bottle bombs. Skip the sorbate. Dissolve 1 oz of honey in a few tablespoons of warm water, stir it gently into the mead and bottle into pressure-rated bottles. Keep them at 65 to 72°F (18 to 22°C) for 2 to 3 weeks and chill one to check. This gives roughly beer-level carbonation.
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Still: stabilize and sweeten
For a still hydromel, add the crushed Campden tablet and the sorbate, wait 48 hours, then stir in honey 1 oz at a time. About 2 oz lands near 1.004, enough to take the edge off without making it taste sweet.
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Condition and drink
Give either version 2 to 3 weeks in the bottle and serve it cold. Light meads are at their best young; plan to drink it within a year.
Timeline
- Day 0Mix the must, pitch yeast
- Days 1 to 5Four nutrient additions, degas
- Weeks 1 to 2Fermentation finishes
- Week 3Rack and cold crash
- Week 4Prime and bottle, or stabilize, sweeten and bottle
- Weeks 6 to 8Drink; best within a year
Why this recipe works
Less honey is the whole point. At 1.5 lb per gallon the must starts near 1.052, the yeast finishes in a week or two without stress and makes few of the hot, solvent-like fusel alcohols that a big 1.110 mead needs months to soften. That is why a hydromel is drinkable in weeks, not seasons.
US-05 is a clean American ale yeast that ferments fast and settles well. Its alcohol tolerance is lower than a wine yeast's, but a hydromel never gets close to it. A wine yeast such as 71B also works; the ale yeast gives a softer, more beer-like drinkability.
With less honey and less alcohol there is nowhere for a dull honey to hide, so the honey choice matters more here than in a big mead. Orange blossom carries its citrus and floral notes through fermentation. The lower alcohol also protects the mead less against spoilage, which is why sanitation, a Campden tablet on the still version and drinking it within a year all matter.
A dry, still hydromel can taste watery. Carbonation fixes that by lifting the aroma and giving the thin body some bite, which is why this style is so often made sparkling. If you keep it still, the small dose of honey at the end does the same job.
Variations
- Fruit hydromel: rack onto 1 lb of frozen and thawed raspberries or blueberries for a week before bottling.
- Hopped hydromel: dry hop with 0.25 oz of Citra or Cascade in a bag for 3 to 5 days before bottling, then prime for a crisp, pale-ale-like mead.
- Tea hydromel: add 1 cup of strongly brewed black tea at mixing for a little tannin and structure.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Bottles gush or are overcarbonated | The mead was primed before it finished, or it got too much honey. Refrigerate every bottle right away to slow the yeast, then open them carefully over a sink. Next time confirm a stable gravity for a week before priming. |
| It tastes thin or watery | Carbonate it, or sweeten a still version by another ounce of honey. Next time use 1.75 lb of honey or a more flavorful honey. |
| No carbonation after 3 weeks | The bottles are too cold or the yeast has settled out. Move them somewhere at about 70°F (21°C), gently tip each bottle to rouse the yeast and give it another week. |
More mead recipes to try
- Ginger mead recipe: Fresh ginger twice, lemon for lift and a crisp, dry finish. Excellent sparkling.
- Braggot (honey and malt mead) recipe: Honey and malt extract in equal measure, a light English hop and ale yeast. Beer-drinker friendly.
- Strawberry mead recipe: Fruit in secondary, a gentle yeast and a semi-sweet finish that keeps the fresh-berry nose.
More traditional mead recipes: Traditional mead.
Or browse all our mead recipes. If this is your first batch, start with the traditional mead recipe or the step-by-step guide to making honey wine.
Frequently asked questions
What is a hydromel?
A light, low-alcohol mead made with less honey than a standard mead. The BJCP mead guidelines use hydromel for meads of about 3.5 to 7.5% ABV. In French, hydromel is simply the everyday word for mead.
Is a session mead the same as a hydromel?
Essentially, yes. Session is borrowed from beer and means low enough in alcohol to drink more than one. Hydromel is the older name for the same idea.
How much honey do I need for a hydromel?
About 1 to 1.75 lb per gallon. This recipe uses 1.5 lb, which starts near 1.052 and ferments to about 6.5 to 7% ABV.
How long does a hydromel take to make?
About 6 to 8 weeks from mixing to drinking: 2 to 3 weeks of fermentation, a week or two to clear and 2 to 3 weeks in the bottle.
Can you make a hydromel sparkling?
Yes, and it suits the style. Once fermentation has fully finished, prime with about 1 oz of honey per gallon and bottle in pressure-rated bottles.
How strong is this session mead?
About 6 to 7% ABV, depending on how dry it ferments and whether you prime it. That is close to a strong beer, not a wine.